Qsd 1 advice

[quadbill]

Hello,After being reinterduced to the thirty plus year old quad fad i bought a Sansui QSD 1.Whats the best way to go with this unit?A pair of modern 2ch stereo recievers or a vintage reciever(marantz 4400,sansui 9001),which one has the best sound of these twr would a lesser sought after 4ch one with a good sound due?I like the scope on the 4400.How about a turntable and cartdrige?Regards Quadbill

 

[vinylguy4]

Hello,After being reinterduced to the thirty plus year old quad fad i bought a Sansui QSD 1.Whats the best way to go with this unit?A pair of modern 2ch stereo recievers or a vintage reciever(marantz 4400,sansui 9001),which one has the best sound of these twr would a lesser sought after 4ch one with a good sound due?I like the scope on the 4400.How about a turntable and cartdrige?Regards Quadbill

If you have the QSD-1, you got the most difficult part of quad beat, so on to the easy parts. Since you already have a good QS decoder, no need to use a Sansui receiver. I've had 4 sansui's, all needed fixing. I've had 3 Marantz receivers, all work fine. So I'd go with a Marantz. The 4400 is what I use, two 4 channel tape loops and also a 4 channel aux.
But when you go quad, you'll want to go 5.1. The lack of a multichannel tape loop is the problem with the 5.1 receivers. So another stereo amp/receiver will be needed in that case.
For CD-4, the Marantz CD-400B is a fine unit, show up regularly on ebay. For a CD-4 capable cartridge, wait for an Audio Technica AT20sla or AT15sa to show up on ebay(sometimes attached to a cheap turntable) and get a replacement stylus from LPGear.com. There are better CD-4 demodulators but they are usually made of unobtainium.
That leaves SQ. For a quick fix, get a SQA-2 or SQA-2B unit for the Marantz. Of course the Fosgate 101a is the way to go for SQ if you can get one. Sony SQD 2020 (or 2010) or Lafayette SQ-W are also good units.
To hook it all together, a couple DBX 200 switch boxes are what I use (don't require an extra power hookup like dbx 400).
For Q8, Akai CR80-dss, Technics 858 or Wollensak 8060 (8080).
For Q4, lots of good reel decks to choose from (I've been told to avoid the Dokorder units).

My 2 cents worth of input.

Vinylguy4

 

[quadbill]

I've read that the marantz 4400's have a piece that mounts to the bottom of the reciever,is that peice a must have for a quad setup?Say if i go with a lafayette sq w or fosgate 101a will i need that piece?If not,what reason would i need it for? It took me awhile to digest most of your post but now i think i've got a better grip on the quad possibilities.Thanks Vinylguy4

 

[vinylguy4]

The Marantz quad receivers have a port on the bottom where an SQ decoder can be plugged in. Marantz made 3 models of the SQ decoder to fit this port. SQA-1, SQA-2 and SQA-2B. If no decoder plugged in the bottom, then will have a metal plate covering the port and would need an external SQ decoder.
External decoders need to be in one of the tape loops.

Vinylguy4

 

[quadbill]

You commented that when i go quad i'd want a 5.1 sytem and because of the lack of a tape loop something,what does this mean?I have a pioneer reciever from the early 90's that claimed some kind of surround but it was just a three channel fr rt,fr lf & center with fake backs,but its got some kind of full logic,is it any good for anything?regards Quadbill

 

[quadbill]

Also ,why would i need a quad 8 track recorder instead of just a regular quad 8 track deck just to play quad tapes,i mean are thier still blanks being produced for sale? Thanks

 

[vinylguy4]

Definitely not much quad 8 track recording being done these days, so just a Q8 player would be sufficient. The best sounding units are usually play and record units. I don't have any suggestions for Q8 play only units.

Vinylguy4

 

[vinylguy4]

You commented that when i go quad i'd want a 5.1 sytem and because of the lack of a tape loop something,what does this mean?I have a pioneer reciever from the early 90's that claimed some kind of surround but it was just a three channel fr rt,fr lf & center with fake backs,but its got some kind of full logic,is it any good for anything?regards Quadbill

In order to process the stereo signal from a record to make a 4 channel signal (using a QSD-1 for instance), would need to use the tape loop in the receiver. Need 4 channel input on the tape loop, not many (none?) 5.1 receivers have a multichannel tape loop. So a quad receiver is easiest for this. But for playing a 5.1 sacd/DVDA/DTS disc, need two more channels. Once quad bug gets you, the 5.1 bug follows shortly.

Early 90s full logic? Must be referring to dolby pro logic.
Any good? The current 5.1 discrete is much better. Dolby Pro Logic II is also better that original dolby pro logic.

Vinylguy4

 

[quadbill]

What about a pair of 2ch stereo recievers,i've got a harman kardon 3480 it's got a tape loop for two channels.I could get another one for cheaper than a marantz 4400 and have twice the power,and i'd have a pair of two ch tape loops.Would that work?Whats a fair price to pay for the Akai cr 80d ss 8 track?

 

[vinylguy4]

Yes, a pair of stereo receivers will work for using a QSD-1.

Fair price for akai cr80-dss? They show up fairly regularly on ebay. Here is a recent auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260135215229

Vinylguy4

 

[The Quadfather]

I use three Sansui AU717 stereo amplifiers for 5.1 surround. I started with two for quad. A decoder can be used without a tape loop, but you would not have the benefit of the input selector switch. But you could use a pair of stereo control amplifiers to provide that. But using a tape loop is the best way. CD-4 demodulators have a built in phono preamp and use the aux input of the amplifier or receiver. You could feed it's out put directly to the QSD-1, if it has a discrete input. You just Y off the matrix inputs from the front discrete inputs from the demod. Feed the outputs from the QSD-1 to the amplifiers. Of course, without an input selector, there is no way to route in other devices unless a control amp is used. ( A control amp is essentially a preamp with a full compliment of controls maybe including tape loops. it does not, however, have a power amplifier stage to drive the speakers. It is designed for use with power amps that do not have controls other than the usual gain pot.) There are lots of ways to hook these things up. Happy Hunting!

The Quadfather

 

[Cai Campbell]

Personally, I would recommend going with a "modern" 5.1 receiver that has a discrete 5.1 analog input. Nothing against vintage equipment but I think you get more bang for your buck and fewer potential problems with a quality modern surround-sound receiver. The only vintage equipment in my own setup are quadraphonic decoders/demodulators.

I can recommend the Harman/Kardon AVR 147. I feel it offers exceptional audio performance for the price; probably one of the best values around. If you shop around, you should be able to find one new for much less than MSRP.

The only real downside is if you want more than one multi-channel source, you'll have to come up with a switching solution. However, if all you want to do is enjoy your QSD-1, this is a very easy, accessable, affordable and high performance solution.

 

[quadbill]

Hi,Do you use the HK AVR 147 for every thing,i mean even your quad?What does it do give you the option of a four channel set up?Or do you use the 5.1 option and just plug the four speakers into the two front and then the two back channels and then just don't plug any thing into the center channel and the subwoofer?Does it have a tape loop for 4 channels?Is the wattage the same on all four channels with that sytem?Does that give you true quad sound arrangment?About the multi channel chose,do you mean something like a DBX model 200 program router,siganal router selector?Can i hook three different decoders to one of those things and just run the four channels to the tape loop and use the DBX to choose which decoder i want to use at that moment?Regards Quadbill

 

[Cai Campbell]

You don't need a tape monitor or tape loop unless you're hooking up a multichannel recording device (quad 8-track, reel, or whatever). If all you want is multi-channel playback capability you only need multi-channel input.

With that said, no, the AVR 147 does not have a multi-channel tape loop. It does have a six channel (5.1) analog input. Yes, for a quad hookup you simply ignore the center channel and LFE inputs. Yes, the AVR 147 offers five channels of identical amplification. Read the specs through the link I provided in my previous message.

Yes, using the AVR 147 as a quadraphonic receiver gives you true and proper quadraphonic performance. There's simply untapped overhead in such a configuration since you're not using the fifth channel of amplification.

I'm not sure about the capabilities of a DBX 200 program selector, but if it offers four-channel switching for three devices, then yes, you can use it to switch between three quadraphonic decoders/demodulators.

The QSD-1 has a four-channel input as well, so you can actually use it to connect a second quadraphonic playback device.